Oil eases below four-year highs; U.S. inventory rise expected

Oil prices eased slightly on Tuesday after rallying for three straight sessions, but remained close to four-year highs on worries that global supplies will drop due to Washington's sanctions on Iran.

"This is the market catching its breath," said Gene McGillian, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

In addition to the worries that Iran, prices are being supported by global demand that has remained strong in the face of trade tensions.

Brent fell 18 cents to settle at $84.80 per barrel, a day after hitting a four-year high of $85.45. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were off 7 cents at $75.23 a barrel, after earlier touching a four-year high of $75.91.

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast that U.S. crude stocks rose about 2 million barrels last week ahead of data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) due out at 4:30 p.m. and from the U.S. government on Wednesday morning.

Crude prices have roughly tripled from lows hit in January 2016 after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia cut output.

Oil market sentiment was lifted by Sunday's last-gasp deal to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. sanctions against Iran's oil industry, which at its peak this year supplied nearly 3 percent of the world's daily consumption, are due to go into effect on Nov. 4.

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Crude oil trading range for the day is 5210-5336

Crude oil trading range for the day is 5210-5336.

Crude oil pared gains on profit booking after prices seen supported as U.S. President Trump vowed in a U.N. speech that there will be no reprieve for Iran from sanctions.

Mohammad Barkindo, OPEC secretary general, said in Madrid that OPEC and its partners should cooperate to ensure they do not “fall from one crisis to another”.

Crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week to Sept. 21 to 400 million, compared with expectations for a decrease of 1.3 million barrels, the APi said.

Also weighing on sentiment was an industry report showing U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly climbed last week.

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Oil firm as OPEC, Russia resist calls to raise output as Iran sanctions loom

Oil markets opened strongly on Tuesday, with Brent crude remaining near a four-year reached the previous session. Oil markets have been driven up by looming U.S. sanctions against Iran and an unwillingness or inability by Middle East dominated producer cartel OPEC and Russia to raise output. Brent crude futures were at $81.39 per barrel at 0042 GMT, up by 19 cents, or 0.2 percent from their last close.

This was not far off the November 2014 high of $81.48 a barrel reached the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $72.22 a barrel, up 14 cents, or 0.2 percent from their last settlement. The United States from November will target Iran's oil exports with sanctions, and Washington is putting pressure on governments and companies around the world to fall in line and cut purchases from Tehran.

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Oil stable as U.S.-China trade row weighs, Iran sanctions cut supply outlook

Oil prices dipped slightly on Monday on concerns that a U.S.-China trade dispute will erode global economic growth, although looming U.S. sanctions against Iran's oil sector kept crude from falling further, traders said.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $75.75 per barrel at 0122 GMT, down 7 cents from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 9 cents at $68.63 a barrel.

"Falling U.S. rig counts and last week's decline in U.S. inventories are supporting oil prices amid a protracted U.S.-China trade war that could dampen global growth and weigh on oil demand," said Stephen Innes, Head of Trading for Asia/Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.

U.S. energy companies cut nine oil drilling rigs last week, dropping to 860, the biggest reduction since May 2016, energy services firm Baker Hughes said on Friday.

"Despite growing concerns about potential oversupply, the markets will continue to get a fillip from U.S. sanctions against Iran," Innes added.

Washington will target Iran's oil exports with sanctions from November.

OPEC-member Iran has exported around 2.5 million barrels per day of crude oil so far this year. Most analysts expect this figure to fall by at least 1 million bpd once sanctions kick in.

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India loaded 12 percent less Iranian oil in June than in May on sanctions fear

Indian refiners ordered about 12 percent less Iranian oil in June than in May, when the U.S. said it would reintroduce sanctions on Iran, but sales remained around 50 percent higher than a year ago.

Refiners in India, Iran's top oil client after China, are weaning themselves away from Iranian oil after the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The first set of sanctions will take effect on Aug. 6, and the rest, notably in the petroleum sector, following a 180-day "wind-down period" ending on Nov. 4.

Indian refiners bought around 664,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in June, according to a statement presented by oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the lower house of parliament.

Although that represented a fall from the previous month, purchases were still higher than a year ago.

"Indian refineries imported 1.9 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in June 2017 and placed orders for 2.82 million tonnes in June 2018," Pradhan said in the statement.

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